According to the World Health Organization, approximately 422 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, with approximately 1.5 million deaths from the disease each year. In Hong Kong, about one in 10 adults has the disease, which is the 11th most common cause of death in the city.
Yet type 2 diabetes is largely both preventable and manageable – which is the focus of World Diabetes Day, observed annually on November 14.
Here’s what you need to know about diabetes and how you can lower your risk of developing type 2.
1. What is diabetes?
The body breaks down most of the food we eat into sugar, or glucose, and releases it into the bloodstream. When blood sugar levels rise, the pancreas releases insulin, which causes the blood sugar to enter the body’s cells and be used as energy.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys cells in your pancreas that produce insulin, which is needed to help cells absorb glucose. Type 2 is caused by insulin resistance or insufficient insulin secretion. Photo: Shutterstock
In diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin (insulin deficiency) or cannot use insulin as well as it should (insulin resistance). If there is not enough insulin, or if cells no longer respond to insulin, too much sugar remains in the bloodstream.
That can cause health problems such as heart disease, kidney disease and vision loss.
2. There are two main types of diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is usually caused by the immune system attacking insulin-producing cells, resulting in insulin deficiency, says Dr. Wong Wai-sheung, a Hong Kong-based endocrinologist.